Derek, Why not? Gymnocactus as a genus doesnt exist ny longer - sunk into Turbinicarpus! So surely the logical step is to replace Gymnocactus in the list of allied genera at the top of this page, with 'Turbinicarpus'.Personally I would expand the remit to include the whole of Tribe Cacteae! Almost certainly a step too far but in order to maybe increase membership I think including at least Turbinicarpus would help. Be interesting to hear what others think.....

I am new to this forum but not new to cacti growing and collecting. Since getting back to the hobby I am on a mission to rejuvenate my Mammillarias (plus some other genus) but my main interest is in Mammillarias. I love having a forum dedicated to JUST Mammillarias without the possible distraction of adding more genus.

I have grown and like Turbinicarpus but am not very familiar with them. Perhaps adding them to this forum would help educate me and point out the species worth growing. I think going either way would be ok with me as long as the forum stays focused on Mams.

SteveSan Anselmo, CA

Last edited by Steve Stephens on Sat Feb 16, 2013 5:53 am; edited 1 time in total

Hi Steve,The discussion here is about whether the Mammillaria Society expands its Associated Genera to include Turbinicarpus. This Forum is not part of the Society, despite my involvement in both.Your views are interesting, as I'm sure many members of the Society would echo them.

Now that I would do in a heartbeat if I were in the UK. I see some really wonderful Mammillaria collections on this site and it would be a pleasure to visit some of them someday. It would be a very long paddle in my sea kayak over the ocean unfortunately.

I recall attending a Mammillaria Society committee meeting about 12 years ago, before moving to Scotland and at that time I was pushing for Turbinicarpus to be added to the Allied Genera.At that time cactus resarch was showing that some of the species included in the Allied Genera were related to Turbinicarpus and I felt that we had to either remove those species or add Turbo's.I expect, has with all things in the cactus world, its a matter of were you draw that line.

Well,I canīt make up my mind about including Turbinicarpus as an allied genus in Mammillaria,but if this forum stays clear of them then i wouldnīt mind so much. There are fora for Turbs on the net already ,so one more wouldnīt be needed

Hi Chris! I was well aware of the distinction between the Society and this Forum.When I look at the societys homepage I canīt see this mentioned but perhaps it will be in the next issue of the Journal. I am a member of the society and also the german AfM, not because of a special interest in Mammillarias per se but because I want to learn more about all the species of cacti that I love. I have had cacti since my early twenties (mostly mamms) but itīs only during the last 25 years that i have been almost obsessed with cactaceae and only during the last 6-7 years have I tried to get plants with field numbers because there are quite a difference between plants of the same species but from different locations and that is fascinating in itself and is a good reason for getting more plants.....Well,itīs late and Iīm rambling. Good night all.

OK, that's fine, Thord.You won't find anything on the Society webpage, at least not yet. We have a Committee meeting mid-March, at which it will be discussed. I am taking a neutral position and want the Committee to offer their views. I see that there are pros and cons.Taxonomically, Turbinicarpus is perhaps closer to Mammillaria than Thelocactus, which appears within the "Associated Genera". Maybe expanding the scope of the Society might bringa wider membership, and so help the finances of theSociety.But if one starts to accept more and more Mexican genera, and others are just as close as Turbinicarpus, then we might dilute our focus and end up as a generalist spociety, whch is not where we are, and probably don;t want to be. There are the BCSS and other National and International Societies for that.I don't think anything's going to happen quickly, but we'll see what happens in a few weeks.

. . . only during the last 6-7 years have I tried to get plants with field numbers because there are quite a difference between plants of the same species but from different locations and that is fascinating in itself and is a good reason for getting more plants.....Well,itīs late and Iīm rambling. Good night all.